The Best Python Courses to learn online
The best online Python courses, one of the most powerful programming languages for Machine Learning!
Python is probably the most used programming language nowadays for Machine Learning and Data Science. If you want to become an expert in any of these fields, it is important that you at least understand the basics of Python and what can and can’t do. There are many resources out there to learn Python like great Python books and Python courses that you can take online, however, it is not easy to find the best resources.
Because of this, we have put together the following list of our favourite courses. Some are free, and some are paid. Some are very simple and some are more complex. Some are long and some are short. Pick at your own choice one of these great online courses for learning Python!
- Free courses
- Paid courses
- Introductory courses:
- Introduction to Python for Data Science by Microsoft on edx
- Python Crash Course by Google
- Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python by edx
- Programming for Everybody – Getting Started with Python
- Complete Python Bootcamp: From Zero to Hero in Python 3
- Python 3 Tutorial from CodeAcademy
Introduction to Python for Data Science by Microsoft on edx
Free Course: This course is part of a professional certificate, but it can be taken for free if you don’t want it. However, if you do not pay, the scheduled programming exercises will not be available either.
Description: It is a fantastic course for starting with Python. First you will learn the fundamentals of the language, syntax, variables and the different concepts, along with standard programming methodologies.
You’ll learn all about how to handle and import packages, and about three of most important Python libraries for Data Science: Pandas, Matplotlib, and Numpy.
It is more oriented towards Data Science than other courses out there, and overall a good theoretical introduction for new programmers.
Duration: It’s duration is 6 weeks with a 2-4 hour dedication each week, so if you are pumped and dedicate a little time each day you can finish it in a lot less than a month.
Prerequisites: It requires no previous knowledge of programming, as long as you are comfortable handling a computer you can take this course.
Programming for Everybody – Getting Started with Python
Paid Course: You have to have a Coursera subscription in principle to be able to assist to this course.
Description: This Python Coursera course has the intention of teaching the art of programming using the Python language from scratch. It will teach you how to build programs, the different data types, and how to play around with them. It is a very good basic introduction to programming, and a course oriented mostly towards beginners and learning from scratch.
Duration: About 15 hours in total, which we recommend breaking into 2-3 weeks and practising coding simultaneously. This course can be very well complemented with one of these Beginner Python books.
Prerequisites: Anyone with a moderate computer experience should be able to master the materials in this course and complete it with ease.
Complete Python Bootcamp: From Zero to Hero in Python 3
Paid Course: This course costs about 14€ when discounted in Udemy (which is most of the time). If you want to do it just wait until there is an offer; they show up periodically.
Description: Jose Portilla is one of the most famous Machine Learning instructors on Udemy. His courses are well explained, simple, and fun.
This course touches everything you need to know to start doing pretty cool stuff in Python: from a very beginner start where you learn the concepts on the language, variables, conditionals, and flow management, you go onto more advanced topics like object oriented programming, decorators, generators, errors and exception handling.
After each topic there is some programming homework in the shape of Jupyter Notebooks, and every once in a while it has a fun milestone project (two in total in the course) that test our capabilities and understanding of what has been learned. Notebooks are provided for this too.
Our opinion of this course is that is very complete and can give you more value than other choices out there, so if you can grab it at the discounted price, we recommend you do.
Duration: It contains 24 hours of video plus the two milestone projects and the homework, so with moderate dedication it can be finished in anywhere from two weeks to a month.
Prerequisites: Again, only basic knowledge of how a computer works is needed for this course, although if you have programmed before you’ll find it easier to tackle.
Python Crash Course by Google
Free Course: This course is free unless you want to pay for a certificate, as it forms part of the Google IT Automation with Python certificate.
Description: It is designed to teach you all you need to know to write programs in Python, understand how programming fits inside IT, and how to structure the building blocks of programming in order to solve specific problems or build projects. It is one of the best courses for learning Python, and the higher level knowledge of Computer Science.
You will get practical experience on the different topics through exercises and real examples, and quickly see how many tasks can be simplified and automatised using programming tools.
It is sponsored by Google, so it can offer you a nice badge to put on your CV as well as some pretty solid knowledge.
Duration: The duration of the course is of 25h of video, so it can be finished quite quickly with moderate dedication.
Prerequisites: No previous programming knowledge is needed.
Introduction to Computer Science and Programming Using Python by edx
Free Course: Again this course has a free option if we do not want the completion certificate.
Description: This course is more extensive than the previous ones, as does not only contain material to become proficient in Python, but also notions about Computer Science and IT engineering.
The goal of the course is to cover a wide range of topics about computation so that students can later have an understanding of what they have to do to solve specific problems and real life challenges.
It is a more demanding course, with integrated exercises and quizzes. If you have time and are willing to make an effort to join the Computer Science community, this is the course for you.
Duration: As mentioned earlier, this is a more time-demanding course. It requires a 2h daily dedication for almost three months to complete, but as it is online, you can do it at your own pace.
Prerequisites: There are no formal prerequisites, knowing how to operate a computer and a bit of maths is enough.
Python 3 Tutorial from Codeacademy
Free course: Like many other courses on Codeacademy, this Python 3 Tutorial is completely free, although there is a paid, more complete version.
Description: This course like tutorial from Codeacademy is one of the best options out there for looking to start learning Python. It is very interactive, with coding sesions of the manner of Datacamp, and it also contains videos, some projects to work on, and quizzies.
You will learn everything that is provided by most Python courses, but in a more interactive way than usual. You will see the syntax, File operations, functions, flow control, conditionals, and the different data types and structures and much more.
This course is a great introduction to both fundamental programming concepts and the Python programming language. Python 3 is the most up-to-date version of the language with many improvements made to increase the efficiency and simplicity of the code that you write
Duration: it has 25 hours of content, which can be easily covered in a couple of weeks without much effort.
Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites whatsoever, this course is for total beginners.
We hope you found this section on Python Courses to learn online useful. In case you are looking for further material to learn Python check out our Python Books section, where you will find intro to Python books as well as advanced Python Material to cover all your needs and learn to code Python. Enjoy!
Thanks for reading How to Learn Machine learning, and have a fantastic day!